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Friday, April 26, 2013

What are the ordinary jurisdiction of High Court Division?

Jurisdiction of High Court
Division:

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The High Court Division is the
superior forum of first instance having general jurisdiction. It has the
onerous responsibility of seeing how laws throughout the country in interpreted
and applied by all courts subordinate or inferior to it. The jurisdiction of
High Court Division flows from to sources, namely Constitutional and ordinary
laws. So the jurisdictions of High Court Division are divided into two categories:
Ordinary or general jurisdiction and Constitutional jurisdiction.

Ordinary Jurisdiction of High Court
division:

An ordinary law is known as statutory
law or Act of parliament. All laws are ‘ordinary law’ which is not
Constitutional law. Ordinary laws are providing some jurisdiction to the High
Court Division, which are called ordinary or general jurisdiction. The ordinary
or general jurisdiction of High Court Division can be divided under four major
heads, they are following types:

1.Original jurisdiction:

Original jurisdiction means that
jurisdiction whereby it can take a case or suit as a court of first instance.
It is for ordinary laws (laws passed by parliament) to prescribe what
particular subject matter will come under the ordinary jurisdiction of the High
Court Division.

Generally the company cases
under the Company act, 1993;

Maritime cases under Admiralty
Act, 1861;

Matrimonial cases under the
Divorce Act, 1925;

Banking dispute under Banking
company’s Ordinance, 1962;

Cases under the Trade Marks
Act, 1940;

Cases under the Succession Act,
1925 etc. are directly heard by the High Court Division; backed up under the
laws passed by parliament.

2.Appellate Jurisdiction:

An appeal of subordinate civil and
criminal shall lies to the High Court Division. This depends primarily upon the
valuation of the suit. First appeal lies to the High Court Division in those
case where the valuation of the suits or proceeding exceeds taka twenty
thousand. Besides trying first appeals, so long the High Court Division also
heard appeals from appellate decree called Second Appeals. Appellate jurisdiction of High Court Division
may be conferred upon the High Court Division, e.g., Criminal Procedure Code
& Civil Procedure Code has conferred on the HCD appellate jurisdiction. In
addition to the subordinate courts, appeals from the tribunals under the
following acts are also under the jurisdiction of the High Court Division:

Artha Rin Adalat Act, 2003;

Bankruptcy Act, 1997;

Special Powers Act, 1974;

Suppression of Repression of Women and
Children Act, 2000;

Public Safety Act, 2000;

Acid Offence suppressions Act, 2002;

The Speedy Trail Tribunal Act, 2002 ;

There are many more provisions under a
good number of others acts, appeals of which also come to the High Court
Division.

3. Revisional
Jurisdiction:

Rivisional power may be conferred upon
the High Court Division, to examine the decision or orders of the subordinate
courts. For example section 115 of the CPC has conferred on the HCD the
revisional power. So High Court Division has the power of revising orders passed
by the subordinate civil courts in casesin which no appeal lies thereto. The
conditions precedent to exercise of revisional power by the High Court Division
is that there must be a case decides by a subordinate court, no appeal must
lies to High Court Division against that decision, and in deciding the case the
subordinate court must have committed an error of law apartment on the face of
the record.

4. Reference
Jurisdiction:

If in a suit appeal or execution case
in which the decree is not applicable, a question of law arises where the court
concerned entertains a reasonable doubt, it may suo moto or on
application of nay party, refer the matter for the opinion of the High Court
Division. Reference jurisdiction of the High Court Division can give opinion
and order on a case referred to it by any subordinate court, e.g., section 113
of the CPC gives the HCD reference jurisdiction.